EU fishermen could face ban on dumping catch

Officials are studying the experience gained by Norway, which prohibits fishermen from throwing overboard fish they did not intend to catch, as part of a strategy for protecting endangered varieties.

They suggest that they may propose new rules against discards by the end of this year.

Fisheries spokeswoman Mireille Thom said that a ban is being examined but that it may be restricted to discarding certain varieties. “A ban across the board might not be practical,” she added.

The Commission is also examining how the use of more selective gear can prevent undersized fish from being caught.

At present, fishermen targeting langoustines – shellfish such as prawns – can often net small cod as by-catch.

Replying to a recent question from Liberal MEP Chris Davies, Fisheries Commissioner Joe Borg said the Commission was assessing Norway’s application of the discard ban and that it was in close contact with the Oslo authorities on the issue. “The Commission is considering developing new initiatives to reduce by-catches, and it would like to take advantage of the Norwegian experience, including the ban on discards.”

But he added that Norway did not have a “single and simple solution” to the problem of by-catches.

Along with the discard ban, it sometimes closes fishing grounds with high concentrations of juvenile fish on a temporary or even long-term basis.

Davies said that up to 2 million tonnes of dead fish were thrown back into the water from vessels in the EU’s waters each year because they were undersized or not covered by the agreed fishing quotas.

“A policy that allows huge quantities of fish caught accidentally to be thrown back dead into the sea is simply indefensible and must be changed,” the MEP said. “A complete ban on the discard of by-catches should be introduced, even though it will be difficult to police.”